It has been over 10 years since the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s study on preventable medical errors: To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. So how are we doing? Are there still nearly 100,000 patients dying…
TL;DR: At GM, fear and poor leadership blocked bad news from flowing both up and down the organization. Executives were shielded from reality, frontline workers weren’t told the truth, and trust eroded as a result. Without leaders going to the…
After 25 years, GM ditches NUMMI tie-up with Toyota In the news this afternoon: PRESS RELEASE: 2009-06-29 GM Media Statement Regarding GM’s Ownership Stake in NUMMI Attributable to Troy Clarke, president, GM North America “As part of its long-term viability…
Toyota Names Akio Toyoda President, Apologizes to Shareholders for Losses This was rumored for a while, but Toyota has formally named Akio Toyoda as the next President. Yes, “Toyoda” with a “d” — that’s the family name. Back when Toyota…
Lean Leap to Health Care #9 (Click for Part #8) by Scott McDuffee “I’m not sure if I have ever learned anything with my mouth open. But, I know I learn a lot with my eyes, ears, and mind open.” Sitting…
Clarity Is Missing Link in Supply Chain – WSJ.com Ah, here we go, it’s time for the annual Just-In-Time-bashing article from the Wall Street Journal. Some past “the WSJ doesn’t get it” posts include: This WSJ Article (as do Many…
Lean Leap to Health Care #6 (click for Part #5) by Scott McDuffee “With this resume, you will never even get looked at from anyone at a hospital,” she said, tossing my resume back at me. “And, what’s a Lean…
No. Toyota’s factories do not run a formal Six Sigma program, and they do not hand out belts. What Toyota does teach, broadly and without much ceremony, is basic quality control and statistical thinking, the kind of tools that predate…
It’s once again my pleasure to host the Carnival for John Hunter and his Curious Cat blog. There are many excellent and thought provoking posts from the past month. I hope you’ll discover a new blog or two (or new…
Lean Leap to Health Care #4 (click for Part #3) by Scott McDuffee “Hey Coach Mike, what have you been up to?” I had been sitting at my “second office,” which will remain nameless, though their symbol is an American…
If Lean can work in healthcare, why not software? Today’s guest post is by Eric Landes, who currently works with Lean/Agile techniques in project portfolio management and development environments in an enterprise IT setting. He constantly works to add business…
Why ‘Quality’ Care Is Dangerous – WSJ.com Yesterday’s WSJ opinion piece by Dr. Jerome Goopman (author of How Doctors Think) and Pamela Hartzband caught my eye. Thanks to the four or five of you who also emailed me the link…